Image description.A party battling a powerful
dragon and its evil undead master. Picture drawn by Quellion.

Appearance. Though
most Dragons resemble giant lizards or serpents, a few
of them are warm-blooded, and some kinds even live in extreme arctic climates.
In general Dragons can live with all elements: some prefer the
air, others live near the
water, on the ground only or also underground
- depending on their species. Some Dragons even live on other planes, such as
the Abyssal Dragon, which is one of the few creatures living in the
Etherial Void. The Dragon is
moderately uncommon, but can be found in all parts of
Caelereth, though sentient Dragons can
mainly be spotted only near the Dragon's Maw and the
Tandala Highlands.

The Dragon is rarely seen, simply because of the fact that the natural hunting
territories of such powerful creatures are shunned by the people. Certain kinds
of Dragons also keep to themselves and "sit on their treasures, waiting for the
next hero to pass by - only to have a very short company" (quoted from one of
Master Tribell's typical fairy tales
about dragonkind). However, at a very special historical occasion it is reported
that masses of Dragons covered the skies in order to avenge the death of one of
the legendary Adamant Dragons - at the famous
Dragonstorm. The horrors this storm
brought over Sarvonia are still recounted
from generation to generation and will never be forgotten.

Most Dragons hunt by themselves, although some, who either favour large prey or
are very small, hunt in packs. Most of the larger kinds have no natural enemies,
and are at the top of the food chain of
Caelereth, while the Lesser Drakes and
Dracoids can be food for other beasts or even other Drakes. Many Dragons also
have extremely powerful magic, equal to or even
greater than the strongest powers of the lesser races (as Dragons interpret
elves, humans,
gnomes, orcs
and the like).

Since there exists a vast variety of dragonkind, Dragons have extremely
different habits and temperaments and are very unpredictable. Some Dragons will
kill and devour members of the lesser races on sight, if given the chance, while
others would try to befriend them. Still other Dragons may find it better to
ignore them unless they are harrassed. Therefore a very important thing to be
aware of in Caelereth
when encountering Dragons is to finding the right way to react. Many a sorcerer
has been killed when a well-meaning Dragon has approached them, and they fought
back. The Dragon was angered and easily killed his opponents. The most notable
example of this situation is in the case of Dorgrim the Slightly Dim. Dorgrim
was a powerful wizard with little intelligence, as the legends tell us (strange,
but true). Dorgrim angered an Aurora Dragon and was known from then on to his
acquaintances as Dorgrim the Very Dead...

Categorization.
Dragons/Drakes can be divided into four different groups. There are Mythical
Dragons, the legendary Dragons of history and myth. There are
Great Drakes, which are usually identified with
the term "Dragons" and comprise the sentient or more powerful spectrum of
Dragonkind living today. The next classification are the
Lesser Drakes, sometimes called "Wyverns". The
last and smallest group are those lizards or serpents
which exhibit distinct Draconian qualities, but are very small or not quite
Drakes in their own right, the Dracoids We summarize the different kinds of
Dragons as follows:

I. LEGENDARY
DRAGONS,
THEIt is written in
ancient passages and spoken of in legends, that there are Dragons of
unimaginable power and knowledge, believed to have moulded and shaped the
culture of their kin. Their deeds of good or evil are renowned throughout the
races, yet the truth of their existence has been lost to the passing of time
but not forgotten. Almost every mention of them, be it by word of mouth or
written on ancient scrolls, portrays magic,
wisdom, knowledge, and superiority over their kind, though this may not
necessarily be true for all.

II. DRAGONS,
THE
Dragons are magnificent and enigmatic creatures of ancient power and profound
wisdom, deemed by many to belong to the most noble race in
Caelereth. Their complex language and
magical ascendancy baffles many who attempt to
study them, as they have spent centuries building and perfecting their
methodologies. They are respected by their lesser kin and all other races for
their knowledge and abilities, having commanded armies of Drakes and other
lesser races in past battles. The unity amongst the creatures is nearly
unbreakable, despite the individual differences between many of them.

The
Great Drakes
Great Drakes are basically huge land beasts often living in mountains and are
distinctive from drakes due to their seize and extraordinary abilities.

The
Wyrms (Great Worms)
Wyrms are usually serpent-like sea beasts, representing an equivalent to the
Lesser Drake Worms. They are therefore also
called Great Worms.

III. DRAKES,
THE
Unlike their ancient cousins, Drakes are much more of a commonality in
Santharia and are considered to be beasts
in the Draconic family. They come in three varieties: Wyverns, Wyrms, or
Drakes. Each retain some physical aspects their larger and more powerful
counterparts have, but they lack the speech, literacy or power, which give the
Dragons ultimate superiority. The kinship they feel with the Dragons is
reflected in the willingness to do their bidding, rarely acting in defiance
against their wishes.

The
Wyverns
Wyverns are drakes that live on land. They usually have a great amount of flying
skill. The term "Wyvern" is also often used for denoting this type of drake
solely, though this usage is not fully correct following the categorization
principles of the Dragon researcher Homloth. Homloth lived in the second century
b.S. and his works still serve as the main resource for Dragon descriptions.

The
Worms (Serpents)
Worms are more serpent-shaped than Drakes and usually prefer
water. They have shorter limbs, though no
lesser wingspan.

IV. DRACOIDS
Dracoids are creatures which have drake-like qualities, but do not have any
true Draconic blood flowing in their veins. Despite this, many races still
attribute them as being descendants of the greater beasts. There are many
different varieties scattered throughout the world. People find them intriguing
and often attempt to domesticate them in hopes of owning, what many seem to
believe, a direct yet small cousin of the Dragons.

V. NETHERDRAKES
Whispered legends speak of two varieties of drakes whose origins are believed
to be within the Netherworld. The
Netherwyrm is a creature whose very existence has long been a subject of
debate. What is known of the Netherworld
is little, but some dark elven myths claim that creatures the likes of a
dragon can be summoned from the dark world of
Coór, and likely the very nature of these
netherwyrms is more akin to
demonic than actual dragonkind. The
dravilonia is another beast of the
Netherworld, but smaller, and is said
to have aided the dark folk during the Third Sarvonian War. These drakes were
used as mounts for the dark armies and were summoned by powerful clerics of
Coór. Like many other creatures said to
call the Netherworld their home, the
Netherdrakes are not defined by actual fact, but by myth, and their true
existence is still debated by scholars.